All Posts by alex dobie

Good news for Galaxy S II owners looking for a bit of custom firmware action. Samsung's excellent flagship device has taken its first step towards being fully supported by CyanogenMod, with early Galaxy S II nightly builds of the popular custom ROM now rolling out. The nightlies are based on the CyanogenMod 7.1 branch, which in turn is based on Android 2.3.4.As ever, these builds are considered...

Following the phone's SIM-free launch a couple of weeks ago, the LG Optimus 3D is now available directly from British network Three. The phone is yours for free on any of Three's 24-month contracts, which range from £35 to £40 per month, or on Pay As You Go for £449.99. Not a bad price considering the tech that's packed inside this thing -- a 1GHz dual-core OMAP4 CPU, a 4.3-inch 3D display and...

Good news for HTC Desire owners on British network Three -- the carrier has confirmed today that it'll be pushing out the official Gingerbread update for the popular handset as soon as it's made available by HTC. No waiting around for network testing or the addition of carrier-mandated bloatware, instead Three-branded Desires will get the update at the same time as unbranded phones. In a post on...

Game developer PopCap has announced that it's reached an agreement with Sony Ericsson to pre-load its "Games by PopCap" portal on the upcoming Xperia Pro and Xperia Mini Pro. The deal will see these phones shipping with trial versions of Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies, along with the full version Chuzzle. It'll also be the first chance for Android owners in Europe to get their hands on PopCap's...

One fortunate side-effect of all the craziness going on at the expensive end of the smartphone spectrum is that more-affordable devices are starting to become faster and better. Last year’s HTC Wildfire underwhelmed us a little, with its sub-par QVGA screen and relatively meager 384MB of RAM. But earlier this year HTC refreshed many of its mid-range products, and it’s arguably the Wildfire that’...

According to reports from multiple forums, HTC is now rolling out a new over-the-air update for the Desire HD, bringing the handset up to software version 2.50.405.2. The new software is still based on Android 2.3.3 and Sense 2.1, but includes a fix for Wifi connectivity issues that some users have been experiencing. So far the update is only rolling out to unbranded Desire HD units in Europe, so...

An official "PlayStation phone" had been rumored since before the release of the original Sony PSP way back in 2005, and it’d been the subject of many a leak leading up to its announcement. However, it wasn’t until this February that we got our first official glimpse of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. With mobile gaming on the rise, and already a major draw for iOS, the PlayStation-certified...

Sony Ericsson is now listing the new keyboard-toting Xperia Pro on its official UK store, with availability slated for "late September". This sees the phone slipping further into late Q3, following earlier delays which saw it miss its Q2 release window.The phone will launch at SIM-free price point of £349.99 (~$560), which is comparable to what you'll pay for an Xperia Neo right now. It'll also...

Sony Ericsson’s 2011 line has so far been dominated by devices with one or more standout features. The Xperia Arc was unbelievably slim and light, with an exceptional camera, while the Xperia Play made its debut as the first PlayStation-certified phone. The Xperia Neo, however, sees the manufacturer taking the hardware of the Arc and downscaling it into a more modest and affordable device. The...

The Sony Ericsson's flagship phone, the Xperia Arc, has quietly made its way onto Sony's US store, priced at $599.99. There's no mention of any specific carrier, but the specs list it as running on AT&T's 3G bands -- 850MHz/1900MHz/2100MHz.This will be the first opportunity for folks in the US to (officially) get hold of an Arc that'll play nicely with a domestic carrier's 3G network. The...

If you owned a PlayStation (of the original, gray variety) back in the late nineties, then the WipEout series should need no introduction. WipEout was one of the first titles to bring futuristic "kart" style racing into 3D, and was massively successful when it launched in 1995, alongside the original Sony PlayStation.Now Sony has brought the original WipEout to Android, in the form of an...

The persistent rumors of an Android-powered “Facebook phone” culminated in the unveiling of the HTC ChaCha and its larger sibling, the Salsa, at Mobile World Congress back in February. With its full QWERTY keyboard and slightly silly name, the ChaCha drew attention for being the first phone to put the social network at the center of the user experience. Avid Facebookers were promised hardware...

HTC is now pushing out its first over-the-air update for unbranded European Sensations, according to reports from users in several European countries. The update package reportedly weighs just under 27MB, and brings the Sensation up to software version 1.35.401.1 -- the exact same version which leaked last week in the form of an RUU (ROM update utility).The general consensus seems to be that this...

If you're still rocking an unrooted, Vodafone-branded Nexus One, then you'll be pleased to hear that today sees the release of the official, Voda-approved Gingerbread update for these phones. The carrier has announced that Android 2.3.4 has begun rolling out over-the-air to its Nexus Ones, bringing these handsets up to date with unbranded Nexii.Of the many new features in Gingerbread, Vodafone...

Many European retailers are taking pre-orders of the HTC EVO 3D (check out our initial review of the US version), but Amazon.co.uk is the first to offer up both a SIM-free price and a possible release date. Amazon's currently listing the EVO 3D with a due date of Sep. 12 and an unsurprisingly hefty price tag of £569.99 (~$910).As we're always quick to point out, pre-order prices and release dates...

UK retailer Play.com has just added a pre-order listing for Sony Ericsson's recently-announced Xperia Ray, pricing the diminutive phone at £349.99, and showing an Aug. 15 release date. The Ray brings the hardware of the Xperia Arc and Xperia Neo and shrinks it down even further, fitting it inside a tiny aluminum-framed chassis with a 3.3-inch display.Pre-order prices and release dates are always...

After previously launching on Three, the HTC Flyer tablet will be on its way to T-Mobile UK later this month, as indicated by an update on the British network's "coming soon" page. There's no information on any specific release date or price points, but you can probably expect a significant discount on the 3G Flyer's £550+ retail price if you're buying one of these on-contract.If you're thinking...

As promised, HTC has offered Desire owners some news on the status of the phone's Android 2.3 Gingerbread update, saying they've begun testing on it this week. In a post on its official Facebook page, the manufacturer said --Hi all- We're excited to share that we are testing our build of Gingerbread for HTC Desire and will start doing quality assurance for it this week. When we have an update on...

British network O2 is now offering HTC's new Facebook phones, the ChaCha and Salsa, on-contract and on Pay & Go. The ChaCha can be yours for £209.99 with a PAYG SIM, or for free on contract a number of 18 and 24-month contracts. Free contracts start at £21.50 for 24 months, or £26.50 for 18 months. If you go for a cheaper contract, you'll pay £60 up-front for your ChaCha.The Salsa will set...

Tablets were the main focus of Archos' recent London press event, but also in attendance were two more unusual Android devices -- the Archos 35 Smart Home Phone and Archos 35 Home Connect, both running Android 2.2 Froyo. The former is exactly what it sounds like -- an old-fashioned home phone based around smartphone hardware and software. The latter is a home entertainment hub, internet radio...

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